ABILENE, Texas – The McMurry men's basketball program will open the 2020-21 season this weekend with two home contests against traditional American Southwest Conference opponents, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. against Sul Ross State inside Kimbrell Arena.
Following the season opener, the War Hawks will welcome former head coach Clif Carroll's new squad to town, as Mary Hardin-Baylor faces McMurry on Saturday at 3 p.m. Though both UMHB and Sul Ross State are in the same conference, both contests will qualify as non-conference games.
Live stats and live video will be available for both contests. Due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in Abilene this past week, both games will be played without fans inside the arena. Players, coaches and essential game day personnel will be the only people in attendance, adhering to recommended masking and social distancing guidelines where possible.
LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO
RECORDS
McM: 0-0, 0-0 ASC
SRSU: 0-1, 0-0 ASC
UMHB: 0-0, 0-0 ASC
NOTES
LAST SEASON – The War Hawks started the season strong, but finished 7-18 overall after dropping their last seven contests. Nonetheless, McMurry boasts an exciting roster for the new campaign mixed with five returners, five transfers and five freshmen. The squad is led by former ASC Player of the Year and All-American Zach Pickelman, who enters his sixth season as McMurry's head coach.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS – Sul Ross State enters Friday's contest with an 0-1 record following an 80-64 loss to East Texas Baptist on Nov. 19. The team finished 17-10 last season, winning the ASC West Division with a 13-3 conference record. The Lobos are led by last year's ASC West Division Player of the Year Tristen Licon, who led the team with 19.3 points per game and went 61 of 149 (40.9 percent) from behind the arc. First year head coach Xavier Webb takes over the program after serving as an assistant coach last season.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SUL ROSS – McMurry's oldest and most storied series comes against Sul Ross, with the first four games happening in the 1923-24 season. The War Hawks own a 99-42 record in the series and will look for win No. 100 on Friday. Sul Ross swept the season series last year with two wins, while McMurry swept the season series in 2018-19.
SCOUTING THE CRU – UMHB unofficially opened its season on Wednesday with a 98-59 exhibition loss to NCAA DI Texas State and will officially open at Hardin-Simmons on Friday night. The team is led by seniors Aedan Welch and Darius Musa, who averaged 4.1 and 2.4 points per game, respectively. Despite an overhauled roster, UMHB is the preseason favorite to win the West Division.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UMHB – McMurry leads the all-time series with a 34-29 record. Last season, the two teams split the season series with UMHB winning handily in Belton and McMurry winning a thrilling 111-109 overtime game at Kimbrell Arena.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE BUTLER – Senior Khalil Butler was named an ASC Player to Watch this year. Butler averaged 9.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season, appearing in 19 games with one start. The Baltimore native comes from an athletic family, as his brother Hakeem plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and his cousins, Aaron and Andrew Harrison, played hoops at Kentucky and were later drafted to the NBA.
CERNY RETURNS – Pickelman added a familiar face to his coaching staff this year, as Chris Cerny joined as a student assistant coach. Cerny won a pair of ASC titles as a player at McMurry from 2010-12 and finished his career with two more seasons in 2014-16, averaging 8.8 PPG as a senior. Cerny and sixth year assistant Rob Yeatts completes this year's coaching staff.
TRANSFERS TO WATCH – McMurry boasts a new veteran presence with five transfers, including senior guard Landen Stephens (SAGU), sophomore forward Devon Webb (Lamar C.C.), junior guard Remy Minor (Lamar State College - Port Arthur) and junior forwards DJ Worrell (Pasadena City College) and Jordan Hall (Southwestern Christian J.C.).
THE RISE OF SHERMAN – Junior guard Jordan Sherman took a steady leap as a sophomore, averaging 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game with appearances in all 25 games. Sherman looks to improve even more his junior year, as the two-way guard has appeared in 46 career games with six career starts.
LOOKING FOR 100 – The War Hawks own 99 wins all-time against Sul Ross State – the most wins against any one opponent in program history. The next highest opponents are Austin College (84) and Howard Payne (80). Tomorrow will mark the 142nd meeting between McMurry and SRSU.
ALL-TIME RECORD – McMurry has played 2,244 games as a program, dating back to its first year as a college in 1923. The War Hawks hold a 1148-1096 all-time record for a 51.1 win percentage.
